Until the Storm Cometh
by Westward
Summary: The Winchesters believe that this is just another case for them, not realizing that a case in a small Pennsylvanian town will put them against more than the upcoming apocalypse. A stranger who wants to help pulls them into new dangers they aren't prepared for. Sam and Dean can't be sure if he is friend or foe, and their only clue to the man is an entry in their father's journal.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Dean turned off the radio, which put the Impala into an abrupt silence that he welcomed this late at night. He didn't mind it at the moment and neither did Sam, who had somehow fallen asleep in the passenger seat despite the roughness of the backwater road they were driving on. Dean gave his brother a quick glance only to see Sam's head tilted backwards and lips slightly parted, ready to snore softly depending on how exhausted the younger Winchester was. His laptop was on resting on his lap, still on a webpage he had been using to do research, but it was threatening to fall with every little shake and bump in the road.

Dean grabbed the steering wheel tight with one hand and slammed the laptop's screen down, effectively making it shut down and shutting off the only source of light in the car. Now surrounded by darkness, Dean focused more closely on the road. The hunters had been forced to take a detour when an accident had cause most of the freeway to be shut down. Sam had pointed out a side road that would take them to their new destination when he was awake a couple of hours ago.

"I know it's bumpy Dean, but it'll only tack on another hour on our drive. We'll be in town and hit a motel well before one am." Sam had said, seeing Dean's reluctance to take the dirt road and ended a petty argument before it even started.

Dean relented turned on the dirt road. With a not-so-silent sigh, Dean turned to look at his brother, a completely serious expression on his face. "If we get a flat tire and end up stranded in the middle of nowhere, you owe me a pie."

That had been well over two hours ago. And if the clock on the dashboard was correct, it was soon about to turn 2:17 any second from now. The sight of the time made Dean grumble in petty misery while he unconsciously accelerated the car. His own exhaustion was getting the better of him and if they didn't reach the next town soon, he would be forced to pull over to get at least a couple hours of shuteye.

A large pothole in the dirt road shook the car violently, causing its inhabitants to bounce around. It startled Sam and, with his foggy and not yet awake eyes, he instantly searched for a threat or foe that had awoken him. Once he realized that he was still in the Impala, he let out an almost unnoticeable sigh of relief and relaxed back into his seat. He brought his left hand to his head and started to rub the tiredness out of his face.

"How long have we been driving?" Sam asked, his voice slightly groggy and slow.

"Thirteen hours now. And we still haven't made it to our next town." Dean muttered, some of his frustration seeping into his voice. He gave his brother an irritated look, which Same quickly returned with only a small huff. "What this place called again? I don't see a sign or anything on this road. Just tree after tree."

"Barbrass Valley, Pennsylvania." Sam muttered. "Let me check and see how far we still have to go..."

With that, Sam opened up his computer again and clicked on Google maps. Dean rubbed his eyes quickly as they tried to readjust to the light again and frowned slightly. He heard his brother's fingers tapping on the keyboard softly. It was only a couple seconds later that Sam spoke up again.

"Looks like we'll reach the town in about another ten miles. We could probably see the light from the town if we looked hard enough." Sam said through a yawn. He leaned forwards towards the window to look up at the sky, squinting his eyes and searching for any stray lights the town was giving off.

"Yeah, well we won't be able to see a damn thing with all this overgrowth." Dean said, haphazardly motioning to the large forest that had managed to swallow them up as they had drove further down the road. Dean paused and tried to look at the direction Sam had been, searching for anything that wasn't tree or bush related. "Hell, I can't see anything past our headlights. Are you sure we're in Pennsylvania and not, I don't know, the Amazon?"

Sam knew his brother's last remark was sarcastic, but he still gave him a look that told the older hunter he was unamused and still exhausted..

Dean slowed down after that, wanting to air on the side of caution once the road grew even more uneven than before. Dean grumbled nonverbally about the state that the Impala's tires would be after this and caused Sam to roll his eyes. It was none too soon that Sam saw a clearing up ahead and nudged Dean with his elbow. Dean looked at Sam, who pointed out the opening at the end of the road. He couldn't help it, but Dean let out a small whoop of excitement despite how tired he was.

The car accelerated and it was only seconds later that the Impala was standing at the edge of a deserted street corner, hand signal showing that the hunters' intended on turning right. No one else was on the street and Dean pulled the Impala onto what looked like Main Street. They drove past shops that were closed for the night, and looked for a place or a motel that would be cheap to rent for a couple of weeks.

"It's looks like a ghost town here." Sam muttered. "Where is everybody?"

"Well, my guess is that everyone is asleep. Though it is a little concerning that nobody's at that bar." Dean spoke as he took a left onto another street, he motioned towards the bar that they had just passed on the left, and how there wasn't a single light on in the place. "First, before anything, let's find a place to hit the hay."

The two continued down the road and quickly spotted a old, broken down motel on the edge of the small town that would fit their needs. They turned into the driveway without a second thought. Cutting off the engine, Dean and Sam climbed out of the impala, ready to book a room and sleep for a couple of hours before starting their investigations.

What the two did not notice were four pairs of eyes watching them down the street, hiding in the shadows of the night. Once the four were satisfied with what they witnessed, they returned down the road and back into the forest from where they had first followed the Impala. They fell off of the beaten, dirt road and onto the ground. The sound of their footsteps on last year's fallen leaves followed them until the four had retreated too far into the forest to follow, where they disappeared altogether.


	2. The Scene of the Crime

**Chapter 1**

Dean woke up a few hours later, only to find that Sam was already up and typing away on his computer. A bagel wrapped in wax paper was sitting on the table adjacent to Sam's laptop, already half eaten, and Sam was currently finishing a cup of coffee. His eyes looked up to see Dean groan and roll out of bed like he had done when he was a teenager, but then returned to whatever research website he was on. Sam was on a lead.

The older hunter had been too exhausted last night to take in the motel room that they rented out for the next two weeks. It was dimly lit and lightly packed, only having enough foot room for either Dean or Sam to move around the two small beds and the small kitchenette area. The sheets looked stained with Dean's refreshed eyesight, and Dean didn't want to know what had made the stains despite his sneaky speculations. There was a TV standing on the dresser in the corner, but Dean doubted that it would work in the current state it was in.

Dean rolled his neck and stretched slightly before picking up his duffle bag and picking out a new, slightly cleaner set of clothes to wear. He headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower, but paused to look at Sam quickly.

"Already went out?" Dean asked, inclining his head towards the bagel and cup of coffee in his younger brother's hands. He sounded slightly suspicious as if wondering if Sam hadn't bought him anything.

"Your breakfast is in the fridge. Just warm it up in the microwave and it'll be as good as new." Sam said between sips. He looked up at Dean, who had answered him with a nonchalant _huh_. "Hey, when you get out of the shower, can we go over a few things? I think I found something."

Dean nodded as an agreement before heading into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and soon the sound of the shower running came through the thin walls. Steam started coming through the spaces between the door and it's hinges, and sooner than later Dean came out fully dressed with his only hair still damp. A puff of steam followed him, but soon dissipated shortly afterwards.

"What'cha got, Sammy?" Dean asked as he made his way towards the fridge to fetch his food.

Sam looked up at his older brother, who pulled a chair up to the table. "Well, you remember what attracted us to Barbrass Valley, right? That newspaper we picked up two days ago mentioned at least four disappearances within the past three weeks. All of them were teenagers attending Barbrass High School. I dug up some research and talked to a couple people on the street while I was out getting food and get this: they were all friends."

"So, a bunch of kids went missing. And they're friends." Dean stated looking at Sam. He nodded, so Dean continued. "Is there any clue that they're in a cult or something? Summoning demons and then being used as vessels? Or are we just wasting our time?"

Sam shook his head. "No, no one I've asked people if they smelled rotten eggs or sulfur these past few weeks. It doesn't rule demons out, but I think it might be something else. Plus, I picked this up when I got our breakfast." Sam pulled out a folded newspaper from his pocket and gave it to Dean, tapping one article in particular with his finger. "More kids went missing in within the last two days. Now it's seven kids missing. In a small town like this, that's going to catch someone's eye eventually."

"Yeah, like ours." Dean looked at the article, it listed the names of each student. He frowned when he read eight names instead of seven. He re-read them again just to make sure while he took a bite out of his bagel. "Sam, there's eight names here."

Sam leaned over the table and flipped the newspaper over a page. The headline was the only thing Dean needed as an answer: _BODY OF MISSING STUDENT FOUND IN RIVER_. Dean frowned and read the article, taking in the information and Sam watched him silently.

"The body of Patricia A. Whelks, sixteen, was discovered earlier this morning on the river bank of the Guwana River at around 4:20 am. Her body was discovered by a travelling business man, John Smith, heading towards Pittsburg. He called the Barbrass Police Station and waited for the sherriff to arrive on the scene." Dean read out loud, despite the fact that he knew Sam had already read the article well before he woke up. "Patricia was the daughter of Ellen and Arthur Whelks. She was in her sophomore year at Barbrass High and was scheduled to play in her soccer team's sectionals later this week on Thursday. Funeral hours will be held on Tuesday between noon and three."

He set the newspaper down on the table and looked at the other hunter. Dean cleared his throat and then continued. "That looks like a great place to start. Let's talk to the parents."

"Not quite yet." Sam said as he picked up the newspaper and folded it back into his coat's pocket. Dean waited for Sam to continue. "We need to get to the crime scene first before any evidence washes away. They might be still questioning this John Smith guy there, and we should talk to him before he leaves town. Once we're done there, we can swing by and talk to the parents."

Dean started to get up, but then noticed the look in Sam's eyes. Sam wasn't telling him something that pertained to the case. Dean gave him a look and quickly sat back down, expectantly waiting for Sam to speak up.

"What?" Sam asked, pretending not to understand. He gave Dean his puppy eyes, trying to give his older brother the effect that he was innocent.

"You're not telling me something. What is it?"

Sam fidgeted for a second before breaking in. "It's . . . nothing. Just a hunch I got from this case. My gut's telling me that it's, uh, vampires."

"Vampires?" Are you sure?" Dean asked, a mall trace of skepticism hidden in his facial expressions. Sam started to protest, but Dean cut him off, raising his arms in an attempt of both defense and a peace offering. "I know man, don't cross off the list before we know anything, but we haven't run into Vampires in a long time. They're a dying race."

"I know Dean, that's why I didn't want to say anything in the first place."

"Look, I know. But usually your guesses are right, so it's better than nothing." Dean nodded and stood up, grabbing the keys to the Impala off the table as he headed towards the front door. "But what you had before that, that sounds like a plan; let's get moving Sammy."

* * *

The two hunters arrived at the crime scene half an hour later, wearing their black tie suits. They slowed down once they noticed two police cars stationed at opposite sides of a an old, steel grated bridge, effectively shutting down this road. There looked to be five cops in total, which wasn't too bad in this situation. Dean pulled over to the side of the road and cut of the ignition in the Impala. The two hunter's shared a look with each other before exiting their car, fake FBI badges in hand.

The cop in charge, Sheriff Bradley Cooper, didn't notice Sam and Dean approaching; he was busy giving orders to his subordinates. The Sheriff was a small, stout man,who looked like a dwarf when compared to Sam, however that wasn't that hard of a feat for most people. He was balding and what little hair he had left was a cropped grey that covered just above his ears and the back of his head. The man looked like he was edging towards an unfit, overweight build and close to retiring age. Dean gave Sam a look and the younger hunter nodded, knowing what he was already thinking. This guy looked closer to a couch potato than a man fit to protect this community.

It was only when Dean and Sam had stood by his side for almost two minutes, and Sam 's indiscreet coughing, that they gained the Sheriff's attention. He turned to look at the hunters, an expectant look on his face. However, Sheriff Cooper's expression changed to one of disgust when he noticed that they were wearing formal suits, the tell tale sign of Federal Agents.

"Sheriff," Dean said as an introduction. Sam and Dean pulled out their badges simultaneously and flipped them accordingly to show the Sheriff their fake names and photos. "My name is Detective Jerald Stacey, and this is my partner Oliver Harper. We've been sent by the Bureau to help along with this investigation."

"Great. Just what I need, Feds!" The Sheriff muttered exasperatedly as he shook his head slowly and looked up at the sky. He muttered something else that the brothers didn't quite catch and returned his attention to Sam and Dean, giving them an eyeful of what looked like distrust and loathing. "Look, we don't need any help with the FBI. Folks around here are already concerned enough about the disappearances. The last thing we need is the Federal Bureau of Investigation out here stirring up more dust than we can take care of. We're a small, close nit community that doesn't-"

"Whoa, relax McCrabby. We just want to investigate the crime scene, look at the body, and talk to the locals." Dean said, raising a hand to calm the fat Sheriff down enough before he blew a blood vessel. "Our job is to report our findings to our superior. The rest of the investigation is in your jurisdiction. However, if any more disappearances occur, we'll get much more involved."

Sheriff Cooper gave Dean a gruff "whatever" as an answer and turned his back on them. He waved for them to follow him as he made his way down under the steel grated bridge. Dean and Sam followed closes, only sharing a glance together before getting back into character. Soon they stopped at the side of the riverbank where a mixture of dirt, sand, and rocks held the imprint of the body that the travelling businessman found. One area in particular looked like it had been soaked with blood as the rocks in that area were stained an awful reddish brown color.

"Where's the body?" Sam asked as he bent down to inspect the rocks.

"It's already being transported to the county morgue back in Barbrass." The Sheriff answered, watching the two hunters with scrutinizing eyes. "The coroner will be performing an autopsy within the next two hours. If you want to have a look at the body before then, then I suggest you move quickly in your investigation."

"And where's the man that found Patricia?" Sam asked politely, turning to look at the Sheriff.

"He went back to town for the interview. He insisted to help this investigation in any way he could." Sheriff Cooper said, noticeably warmer to Sam than to Dean, albeit not that much. "Seemed like a nice guy to me, although you could tell that he wasn't from around here. If you want to talk to him, you can find him at the station or at one of the motels in town. Even I could tell he was going to hang out in Barbrass for the next few days. Mentioned that he might attend the funeral for the young miss."

"Thank you, officer Cooper, we'll be done here within a few minutes." Dean politely said to the Sheriff not trying to hide the dismissive tone of voice he gave the officer. The Sherriff grunted, knowing a dismissal when there was one, and left the two unbeknownst hunters alone at the crime scene. "Let's hurry it up Sam before that damned coroner screws up some evidence."

"Working on it." Sam grunted as he inspected the ground some more. He pulled out an EMF detector from his pants pockets and turned it on. The piece of equipment didn't even register anything. "I'm not getting anything on this. Let me check the perimeter for anything."

Dean nodded and took over the inspection of the crime scene. Dean picked up one of the blood stained stones and sniffed it before placing it in his pocket. He'll have someone look at it, even if he had to converse with Bobby over the phone with him. Dean shifted through more of the ground for a few minutes and was about to go and join his brother when he noticed a tooth within the dirt and pebbles. Carefully, Dean picked it up and inspected it in the sunlight.

"Well, she must have put up a good fight to knock you loose, buddy." Dean muttered softly to himself. He smiled at the discovery, but he wasn't necessarily happy at it either. The hunter put the tooth in his pocket along with the rock. He slowly got up from the ground and looked within the woods, looking for a large human shape in black walking through the woods. He spotted Sam's figure and started making his way towards his brother. "Now at least we know what we're dealing with. Damn, I hate it when Sam is right."

Dean stumbled his way through the woods, the fallen leaves from last fall crunching under his black polished shoes, following Sam's trail until he made his way towards his brother, who was currently standing in the middle of an opening, not moving. Dean stopped at Sam's side and patted his brother on the back, not noticing that Sam wasn't paying attention to his arrival. Dean looked behind him, still seeing the flashing police lights and the officer's scrambling around. The local enforcement wouldn't be able to hear them from here, so Dean dropped his act.

"Looks like you had it right, Sammy. Found a tooth back there in the sand. A vampire tooth." Dean said as he looked at his brother. He noticed that Sam wasn't paying attention to him, but was rather locked in a trance as he stared straight forward, EMF detector still in his right hand. Dean frowned at his brother's strange behavior and waved an open palm over Sam's field of sight, hoping to snap Sam out of it. "Hello, Sam? What's wrong with you?"

It took a couple more remarks from Dean, some serious and others poking fun at Sam's nerdish tendencies, to finally snap the younger brother back into reality.

"Wh-what?" Sam asked as his eyes refocused and then shifted onto his brother. "What happened?"

"You zoned out there for a second, Sammy. Something wrong?" Dean asked.

"No, it's just that I thought . . ." Sam turned his attention back to the direction he was staring at. Dean thought he was going to fall back into his trance again if it wasn't for the frown that Sam formed. Dean knew that frown, and it was confused-but-still-thinking frown that made his little brother so determined. ". . . I thought I saw something that doesn't belong here."

"Like what, an egyptian goddess or something?"

"No, not like that." Sam almost chuckled at Dean's small joke as he tried to find the right words to form an explanation. He raised a hand and pointed to the end of the clearing they were in."When I was walking by, I thought I saw a flash of blue. Like, a really deep blue. And it was big too. But when I looked again, it wasn't there."

Dean hummed to himself and turned to look at what Sam was pointing. "Dude, you're going crazy; I don't see a damn thing."

"Could it have been an angel? Like Castiel?" Sam asked as he shrugged and headed back towards the road.

Dean instantly frowned at that train of thought. "I hope to god it wasn't. I don't want to deal with those guys right now, even Cas. This case doesn't even have demons involved, so they can keep their little angel butts up in heaven and away from us."

"Really, what makes you so sure that demons aren't involved?" Sam turned to look at him. Dean answered Sam by grabbing the tooth out of his pocket and showing it to him. Sam frowned in confusion for a quick second before nodding his head, understanding. "I was right then. Still, let's go see the body and see if there's any more clues that we're missing."

"Whatever you say." Dean said as they made their way to the Impala. Sheriff Cooper caught sight of them and Dean waved towards him with a fake smile, showing him that the two were leaving. He received no reply from the man, but Dean did not mind the man's bitterness towards him."I want to see the parents and see how and why their kids were involved with vampires."


	3. At the House

** Chapter 2**

Visiting Patricia's body only confirmed what they knew. Bite marks on the girl's shoulders matched the pattern of bite marks of known vampires. However, she had not been one herself. With her head still attached to her body, and the Colt in the brothers' possession, she would still be rambling around, looking for blood.

"She was a victim, then?" Sam asked his brother as they looked over the body, looking for any other damage on the girl. Sam rose up one of the girl's arms and noticed how light and pale it was in the overhead lamp's light. "Her veins are quite noticeable too, despite her loss of blood."

"She must have been the victim." Dean agreed. He put on a glove and opened her mouth, pulling up her upper lip. Just as expected, there wasn't a second set of protruding teeth. Dean slowly nodded to himself and took off his glove. "She was human when it killed her. Some vampire must have taken her and used her as a snack."

"If she was human, then the other lost children could be too." Sam said as he rubbed his chin, thinking out loud. "Let's hope that they're still alive."

"Let's stay optimistic, Sammy." Dean muttered as he inspected the victim more closely.

Patricia was a young girl, and Dean noticed that she must have been beautiful when she had been alive. She had taken a trip down the river, as there were twigs semi-decomposed leaves in her dark brown hair, which was now ratted and untamable. Her face, especially her nose, was cut up roughly on what had most likely been rough, jagged rocks on the river's floor. Similar cuts were found on her shoulders, arms, and knees, which would have hidden any bite marks to anybody that wasn't specifically looking for them. The girl's face was slightly puffy, adding a slightly sickening characteristic to the body.

"Poor girl, no one should ever have to die like this." Sam muttered mostly to himself.

Dean looked up to his brother. "No one should, that's why there's people like us."

Dean picked up her hand and noticed the rawness of the girl's knuckles. He looked at the other hand, only to notice that it also had bruising, cuts, and discoloration that showed that the girl had fought for her life. Dean was silently impressed with this girl; a vampire was hard to take down, even for a hunter. While not knowing what kind of marks, if any, the girl was able put on this thing, her injuries showed that she at least managed to hit it multiple times. The tooth in Dean's pocket was evidence of that.

"Dean, if she's dead, the other children could be next." Sam said, grabbing his brother's attention once more. Sam grabbed Dean's elbow and started to lead Dean out of the morgue's basement. "This vampire might be hoarding them for an easy meal. We need to find them before it's too late."

Dean nodded his head in agreement. Kid's made easy meals for vampires, as they were still too weak to protect themselves like adults. Their naive attitudes, despite their parents' teachings, did nothing to help against a Vampire's seductive skills that they mastered for decades. Not to mention the affects movies and books like _Twilight_ had on most teenagers, especially girls. They would have to act fast to track down the kids, save them, and then go after this resident vampire before each kid was used as a private blood bank.

"Come on then, let's go talk to Patricia's parents." Dean said as they both headed up the steep set of stairs. "Do you know where they live?"

"Right on Second Street. You'll be able to tell by the shrine of flowers on their front porch." Sam informed.

Dean paused for a second on the top of the stairs and turned to look at his brother with a questioning look.

"A shrine?" The confusion in his voice was almost tangible.

Sam shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "You remember what Sheriff Cooper said: Barbrass is a close-knit community. It's more than likely that everyone knew everybody. So a death, especially a child's, is probably going to affect the whole community."

"Yeah, but a shrine?" Dean asked, still sounding shocked. He continued moving forward, and he was still mumbling about the shrine idea when they climbed into the Impala. Dean absent mindedly put the keys into the ignition and started the car. Once they were on the main road, Dean stopped his mumbling and looked over at Sam. "So where is Second Street?"

With Sam's directions, the two hunters finally made it to the correct street. Dean slowed the Impala to a stop at the intersection, a shocked look on his face. He stared down the street and took into account the sheer number of cars parked alongside the road. Groups of people in numbers of four or five were scattered around the area, making the street look more populated than the whole town of Barbrass. There was barely enough room to steer the Impala down the road. Dean glanced towards Sam, who had an almost identical expression of shock and disbelief on his face. With a small huff, Dean pulled over onto the grass and cut off the engine.

"This Patricia girl must have been pretty important to the town." Sam muttered as he got out of the car. He closed the car door and looked up to see Dean stepping out, giving him a slightly exasperated face.

"Yeah, no kidding. Considering the whole town is here. 'Affect the whole community?' You couldn't have phrased it better." Dean muttered through clenched teeth, eyes sparkling with frustration that only Sam would have been able to notice. "How are we ever going to talk to her parents with everyone around?"

Sam gave his brother a look. "Why don't we just ask to speak in private? You know, like we _usually_ do?"

Dean sighed. "Come on, let's make this quick. The sooner we find this vampire, the safer these people are."

They walked down the sidewalk, ignoring the looks that the townspeople gave them in their FBI suits. Despite the townspeople's concerned looks, Sam could feel that they were also suspicious of their presence in the town. Sam looked to Dean, and noticed that Dean also felt the stares on their backs. Sam breathed out a heavy sigh, knowing that they would have to work this case fast if the townsfolk were already this suspicious. That would make this case a hell of a lot more difficult.

The two hunters knew that they reached the right house when they came upon the shrine. The house in question had a white picket fence surrounding the property and a few dozen roses were intertwined between a pieces of the fence. A picture of Patricia sat on the sidewalk, leaning against the fence. There were three short candles around the picture that someone had most likely placed there. The candles were not yet lit, but the two brothers noticed a guy with a small lighter hanging next to fence, waiting for a grace period when people were done paying their respects to light the candles.

Dean and Sam watched for a few passing seconds before heading up to the house. They walked up slowly onto the front porch, looking through the front windows. It looked like someone was in the house already, talking to the parents of the dearly departed. If Dean declined his head a few degrees down, he could see the shapes of Mr. and Mrs. Whelks sitting on the sofa, literally holding each other together.

Another person, a man by the looks of it, was sitting opposite of the two, back towards the hunters. A thin, white laced curtain covered most of the man's features, but Dean noticed that he was wearing a blue pinstripe suit. The older hunter instantly thought he was another Fed and nudged Sam in the sides. The two looked at each other and prepared their fake ID badges in case of a possible inconvenience.

Sam cleared his throat and knocked on the front door slightly. Dean watched as the conversation in the front room was interrupted. Mr. Whelks stood up and removed himself from the room to open the door. Dean quickly composed himself, and the two waited patiently.

The door opened up, revealing a short man looking to be of Irish heritage. His face was red and swollen as if he had been crying too much lately. He looked up at Sam and Dean and tried to round his shoulders as if to make himself look more confident than he actually felt.

"Yes, can I help you?" Mr. Whelks spoke in an almost broken tone of voice.

"Arthur Whelks, I presume?" Sam spoke first. The man gave Sam a stiff nod after a short pause, and he continued. "We are Detectives Harper and Stacey from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We would like to talk in private about your daughter's . . . passing."

Dean and Sam flashed the man their badges and waited for him to answer. After a second of quietly thinking, the man nodded and moved to the side. Mr. Whelks motioned for the two hunters to enter his house, but stopped them at the end of the entry way.

"If you could please wait here for a second." Mr. Whelks asked as he surpassed the brothers; he gave the two hardened, somber looks. "My wife and I are currently in the middle of something."

"Of course, take your time." Dean said, allowing Mr. Whelks to rejoin his wife and their visitor.

The short man disappeared, and Sam and Dean instantly moved closer to the next room to hear the ongoing conversation. Usually they respected people's privacy, but with a vampire on the loose and seven other children missing, they needed to get any information that they could get their hands on. They moved close to the wall, stretching their hearing as they barely caught what was being said.

"… I'm sorry, Ellen. I'm so sorry for your loss." Dean could hear a man's voice faintly. It had a British accent, which made Dean give his brother a quick look; it wasn't very often that they met someone from outside the borders. Sam shrugged and the two focused back onto the conversation. "I can't take the hurt way, and I can't tell you that it'll get better."

"What am I supposed to do then?" A female voice asked, sounding like whoever it was was on the edge of hysterics. "Do I just forget my baby?"

"No, no no." The British speaker hushed in a soothing voice. "We must never forget who we lost. They have touched our lives in such a way that it would be a dishonor to do that. We must carry on in their spirit, even when it hurts."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." The woman stated softly.

"I am no stranger to loss, Mrs. Whelks. It still hurts me; everyday I think of those who I have lost. And I think of their bright, brilliant smiles and that I'll never see them again." The man spoke softly and almost too low for Sam and Dean to make out. "And then I remember what we did together, and the good memories, and even the bad ones, that we made with the time that we had. I make an effort to remind myself of the friends I have made and knowing that I have touched their lives for the better or the worse. They have certainly touched my life for the better. It's that thought that keeps me going from day to day."

There was a small pause.

"Thank you Mr. Smith." Mrs. Whelks said, her voice now stronger than before. "I appreciate you stopping by; this would have been much more difficult if you hadn't."

"I would have felt guilty if I didn't visit the family in mourning." The man, Mr. Smith, said as he audibly sat up. "I have to leave now, but I will be in the area for the next couple days. If you need to talk with someone, to confide, feel free to seek me out."

"Thank you for your time." Mr. Whelks added as he more than likely was showing the man's way out the house.

Dean and Sam heard footsteps approaching, and they quickly readied themselves. With the posture that most Federal Agents had, the two hunters caught a good glimpse at the man who had been speaking with the mother of the deceased. He was tall, not as tall as Sam but taller than Dean and had a thin frame as if he ran or jogged to keep fit. He wore the blue suit that Dean noticed earlier, but what the hunter hadn't noticed was the pair of white, dirty Converse that the man was wearing. The state of his shoes was the only proof the two brother's needed to confirm that this man ran a lot. The man's brown hair seemed to defy physics in some parts as it stood up in weird angles without any signs of gel or other hair products.

But what struck Dean first was the man's eyes. They were brown in color, but that was not what struck Dean as interesting. As soon as the two looked at each other, Dean saw darkness in the man's eyes. But it was a darkness of loss and pain. The man caught Dean's gaze, and the darkness in his disappeared, replaced with life and energy that it had sorely needed only seconds ago.

The British man had caught Dean staring at him.

"Hello there, officer. Don't mind me, just paying my respects to the family." The man said cheerily in his British accent, only accompanied by a large smile. "I'll get out of your hair right away."

"That won't be necessary, sir." Dean interjected before Sam could thank the Brit for his offer. Sam almost gave Dean a look, but the older brother knew what he was doing. "You're Smith, John Smith?"

"Yes, that's right." The man said quickly and confidently.

"So you were the one who found the body of Patricia?" Dean pressed further.

"I believe I am, officer." John said, nodding his head as he frowned a bit. The cheery smile he gave the boys only a few seconds ago sobered until he looked like a very serious man. "Poor girl. She had so much to do in her life… ah but you're not here to listen to me rant philosophy. Usually no one is. You probably want to interview me about this morning, don't you?"

"Uh, yes. We would like to at some point today." Sam said as he finally caught on, albeit a little too slowly for Dean's taste. "However, at the moment we would like to talk to the family about Patricia. Could you perhaps wait outside for a few minutes?"

The sides of John's mouth pinched downwards to create the smallest of frowns. He shook his head before stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. Rolling on the balls of his heels, John Smith began to excuse himself from the hunters' presence.

"I'd love to, but I have things that need to get done today. See, I'm supposed to meet a friend of mine in Pittsburg. Actually, I should have called her sooner; she has no idea where I am! Best not to keep her waiting; that girl doesn't have the best of tempers." John spewed at a quick pace. "I have to go and find a pay phone and call her. Hummm, do pay phones still exist in this century? Never mind, I'll find one…"

John paused for a second, his thoughts process practically written on his face. The brothers took this pause to give each other identical looks: questioning glances. However, John returned to the conversation faster than anticipated and his attention was back on Sam and Dean.

"So anyways. I'll be available in a couple of hours. Perhaps we can chat over dinner?" John offered before Sam or Dean could say anything. "I fancy myself some pasta, or fish."

Dean had expected John Smith to continue speaking, but had found himself in an awkward silence. "Sure, buddy. Sound's good. How about that Diner on Main Street?"

"Brilliant plan. Love it. I'll see you later, officers…"

"Dectective Harper." Sam said as he motioned towards himself. He then turned to Dean. "And this is my partner, Detective Stacey."

John quickly took both of their hands and shook them with intensity. Dean almost flinched as he hadn't expected the man's grip to be as strong as it was. His hands were rough too, and it scraped against his own calloused skin.

John Smith soon left after that, leaving the brothers to ponder the strange man that they had just met. He seemed normal, but his personality had caught the brothers off guard. With just a shrug, the brother's composed themselves again and followed Mr. Whelks into the other room, where his wife was waiting and just barely managing to hold back tears. Dean and Sam were led to the sofa opposite of the one Mrs. Whelks was sitting on, and the two sat down stiffly.

Mr. and Mrs. Whelks waited patiently for either of the hunter's to talk. Sam coughed his throat and then looked over at Dean. Dean didn't make any move to start talking, knowing that anything that he said would most likely upset the mourning family.

"Tell us a little bit about Patricia." Sam started as he leaned forward towards the two mourning parents. He pulled out a small pad and a pen to write down some notes. Dean looked to the two mourning parents and motioned that they were ready whenever they were.

Mr. Whelks shared a wary look with his wife before looking up and meeting Sam's gaze. "Patricia was . . . our gem. Our only child. It was purely a miracle that she was born at all and we loved her dearly. And the community loved her too. She had so many friends at school; usually there was always one or two of them in the house at any given time. It kept our lives more than busy enough."

At that thought, Mr. Whelks gave out a small, hopeless chuckle. His wife gripped his hand with both of hers and gave it a tight squeeze. Mr. Whelks looked down at her, hoping that she would continue. However, the tears streaming down her puffy, red cheeks was a sign that she wasn't ready to talk about it a second time this day. The wife shook her head stiffly, and then Mr. Whelks breathed in deeply before continuing.

"She loved her school, too. Took part in almost every sport available. Patricia couldn't sit still for a second, that girl. She was part of the school's Spring Tennis team. They went to sectionals earlier this week and won. Patricia was part of the winning team; it made Patricia beam when she brought the trophy home."

"And she wasn't just athletic," Mrs. Whelks finally added, her voice small and feeble. "She was one of Barbrass' smartest; She was in the top ten of her class. Number eight in fact. Our whole family was so proud of her."

"She was a good girl. One of the brightest in town. She would have known better than to run around town at night while some kidnapper was on the loose." Mr. Whelks finished, looking to be on the verge of tears over the loss of his daughter. His voice had faltered on the word kidnapper, and both Sam and Dean could tell that that was when his mental strength had finally broken down.

"We can give you a moment, if you need one?" Sam asked, feeling that pressing them further would do more harm than good for the parents.

Mrs. Whelks was quick to answer with a stiff nod and closed eyes. It had been too much and it was obvious that she needed a small moment to clear her head. Sam and Dean simultaneously stood up from their seats and headed towards the room's archway. Sam was making his way towards the front door when Dean paused and turned back to the Whelks. The two were whispering comforts to each other when Dean tried to politely catch their attention with a forced cough.

The two looked up, slightly alarmed by the noise. "Excuse me, but would it be alright if my colleague and I have a look at your daughter's room? Just for the investigation's sake."

"Of course, Officer. But I highly doubt that you'll find anything of use." Mr. Whelks frowned slightly, not particularly liking the idea of two strangers snooping around his daughter's room. "Patricia's room is . . . was on the second floor of the house. It's the first room on the left when going up the stairs."

Dean nodded and grabbed his bother discreetly and the two hunters walked up the small staircase as quietly as they could.


	4. Chess Piece

Dean opened the door, and the two hunters found themselves in the victim's small bedroom. Despite it being more sterile and plain than most typical teenage rooms, there were obvious signs that a sixteen year old frequently resided here. The room was painted a light yellow, which must have faded with age from the sunlight, and a small yellow colored shag rug rested on the old wooden floorboards. Shoes were neatly piled alongside the wall next to the door, out of the way of whoever entered the room. A makeup stand was setup next to the window, covered with only a small trace of foundation and blush.

The single bed in the far corner was made with a pile of folded laundry sitting on the foot of the covers, almost as if they were waiting patiently to be put in the dresser or the closet. Above the bed was a poster of a band that Dean actually recognized: Pink Floyd. Two more posters were on the opposite wall, one of John Lennon and another that was too modern for Dean's knowledge.

A desk sat adjacent to the small bed, an old laptop turned off, but still open, with three post-it-notes stuck on the screen. While Dean examined the girl's posters, Sam stepped forward for a closer look at the notes written.

_Darby's four. Remember to bring it, _one note said. _Talk to Darryl and Katherine about tomorrow_, another said. Sam grabbed the notes off of the computer as he read them, but paused at the last one. This one was in a different handwriting, and was written in pencil rather than the blue ink the other two were. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he re-read the last note repeatedly: _Go to school after Janitor's leave. Back entrance. Tell no one._

"Dean?" Sam asked as he raised his voice with alarm. He looked over his shoulder to his brother, who was now busy scrounging through the girl's closet. Dean stopped and popped his head out of the doorway, his attention on his little brother. Sam ripped the post-it-note off the computer and waved it in Dean's direction. "I might have something here."

"Yeah, I'm might too." Dean said, the smallest of a smirk tugging on his lips. He stepped back into the closet and came back out clutching what looked like a folded chessboard. "Girl had this tucked away behind the shoes, as if she didn't want anyone to find it. I was trying to find the pieces when you called me."

Sam gave his brother an incredulous look before asking the obvious. "Are you sure that Patricia didn't just buy that years ago and didn't touch it?"

"Damn right I'm sure. Look," Dean paused and opened to board, blew it on it with his breath, and then waited for Sam to respond. "Not a speckle of dust on the thing. I'm no Sherlock, but she must have been using it fairly regularly compared to the rest of the stuff this girl managed to pack back there."

Sam hummed slightly in agreement and nodded his head slowly, accepting Dean's deduction skills. Sam showed Dean the first note he had grabbed off the computer, which garnered his brother's attention again. "Could be possible. I mean this might be what this was talking about. I mean, I thought it could be talking about something vampire related-"

"Hey, it might be vampire related. It's too early in this investigation to rule it out." Dean muttered, defending his case. "Whatever, we can talk to this Darby for clarification. Is this what you wanted to show me Sammy?"

"No this is."

Sam handed his brother the note in question. Dean gave it a long look before nodding his head. "Well, either this a creepy pick-up note from her boyfriend or, what I think is the more likely cause, is the reason why she ended up a blood snack for the vampire."

Sam nodded. "We should definitely check the school out after we're done here with the Whelks and after we check in with some of the other families with missing kids. Do you think we have enough time to hit it before our lunch-date with Mr. Smith?"

"Nah, let's hit it after night, when there'll be less eyes and we can drop this monkey-suit charade." Dean said with a sound that sounded to similar to a snort for his own liking. "I feel as uncomfortable in this as Buffy would be without a stake tucked in her pocket. Let's look some more, finish up here and then return to the parents."

Sam didn't say anything and continued his search through Patricia's desk. He turned the computer on, which wheezed a sound that wasn't very comforting to Sam. While he waited for the computer to reboot, he took a look through the desks drawers. Surprisingly, they weren't as neat as the rest of the room as it looked to be stuffed to the brim with what Sam would consider junk. Absentmindedly, Sam started to search through the junk, looking for nothing in particular. It was then that Sam found the object that Dean had been previously looking for.

"Dean, found your chess piece. Only one, though." Sam said, holding it up above his head so his brother could take it out of his hands. When Dean didn't come over, he began waving it around as he started typing down possible passwords. "Dean, take it so I can get into her computer."

A couple seconds later, Dean took the chess piece out of his brother's outstretched hand. He looked at it and was surprised to see that it was indeed a chess piece, but someone had converted it into a necklace by drilling a hole into the top of the structure. The chess piece, a Bishop if Dean guessed correctly, had a silver chain through the hole and what looked like a strand of brown hair intertwined between the chains. Dean pulled the hair off and held it at length; it looked like the same length of Patricia's hair.

"Do you think this has any significance?" Dean asked out loud.

"Probably." Sam said with a shrug, continuing to type in possible passwords. After the twentieth try, Sam let out a sigh and stood up. "I can't think straight right now. Let's finish up here; I'll take the computer with us when we leave."

Dean nodded in agreement and pocketed the chess piece before turning to leave the dead teenager's bedroom. Sam unplugged the ancient laptop and held it underneath his arm as he followed his brother out the door. The two hunters hurried their way down the stairs, less quiet than before, and poked around the house to find the mourning parents. The Whelks had migrated from the front room to the kitchen, where the wife was making the two of them a fresh brew of coffee. The two had been sitting in silence, but their heads simultaneously swiveled to the two hunters as they entered the room quite noisily.

"We have just a couple more questions, and then we'll take our leave." Dean said softly, as if not to disturb the two.

"Of course, Detectives. Please, take a seat." Mrs. Whelks said softly, offering the two hunters two seats at the dining table. Dean and Sam took them out of respect before the parents could join them. Mrs. Whelks held up the coffee pot that was in her hand. "Coffee?"

"No thank you miss." Sam said, shaking his head. He held the computer up for the parents to see it. The two stared at it, dumbfounded for a few seconds. "We're going to need to take this, Mr. Whelks. It might have information on how your daughter was killed?"

Mrs. Whelks frowned at that, and then she shook her head in disbelief. "How would it?"

"Well you see," Dean said as he fidgeted slightly in his chair, shifting in a more comfortable position. "It could be possible that your daughter had been talking or E-mailing to the other missing children in the past few weeks. There has to be a connection between Patricia and the other kids. This might help us locate them."

Mrs. Whelks' frown deepened. She made a noise of disgust and turned her head away from the hunters, shaking it slowly again. Mr. Whelks watched his wife's actions and then sighed, deciding to be the voice of reason here. The two hunters watched the exchange curiously but said nothing.

"Of course, detectives. If it helps lead to-"

"Patricia doesn't know those other kids." Mrs. Whelks cut off her husband harshly. Her next few words were curt and sliced through the anxiety filled room like a knife. "They are _not_ her friends."

"Are you sure, Mrs. Whelks? There must be some connection between the kids." Sam pointed out as he tilted his head in confusion, looking almost like a lost puppy. He could tell that the wife was going into denial, like most upset mothers he and Dean came across. They just had to play this right and avoid a confrontation."They could have been talking on Facebook or meeting up at school."

"No, I don't believe it." Mrs. Whelks stated, her voice growing weaker as her emotions got the better of her again. "She and her friends, they openly talked to me about her disgust for those other kids. They were the losers of her school. My darling was the cream of the crop; I wouldn't allow her to be associated with _them_."

Dean raised an eyebrow at that. He glanced over at Sam, who had a similar expression on his face. This was new information, and they would have to have the other parents either confirm or deny Mrs. Whelks ' claims. Dean shrugged as an answer to the mother's declarations, and started to sit up. Sam caught him by the shoulder, however, and the younger brother forced him back down into his seat.

"Nonetheless Miss, we're going to take it as evidence in the investigation. We need anything that can help us find the other children and their kidnapper." Sam said in him most authoritative voice. "And your daughter's murderer. We just have a few more questions and then that'll be it."

Mrs. Whelks didn't respond, apparently deciding to finally ignore the two men. Mr. Whelks gave his wife a disappointed look before taking a large sip from his still steaming coffee. His swallow was loud, and it was only amplified by being the only sound in the kitchen. An uneasy silence passed through the four of them, which only made Dean all the more anxious to get up and leave. He gave Sam a look that could only be a plea for escape, but Sam shook his head.

"Did Patricia have a boyfriend?" Sam asked, shattering the cold silence. Mrs. Whelks eyes shot up to his, an unexplainable flash of anger in her hazel orbs before the energy disappeared and was replaced with more denial. The woman averted her eyes from Sam's once again and shook her head. "We noticed a strange note that could indicate that she had been seeing someone after dark."

"No, not without my knowledge." Mrs. Whelks answered softly. "Her last boyfriend was a boy called Gavin, but that had been a poor mistake on her part. When I noticed what an effect that man had on my daughter, I demanded that she break up with him over a year ago."

Sam narrowed his eyebrows. This information was either useless or of some importance. Sam glanced at his brother, only to see that Dean had been unaffected by this new information. Upon further inspection, Sam could see that his brother had been paying attention, but was thinking too hard to show any physical reaction that he was listening. Sam knew it was best to leave Dean to his thoughts until they had a second alone.

"Why do you think that this boy was a mistake?" Sam asked. "Was he a bad influence on Patricia? Was he into anything that wasn't . . . natural?"

Mrs. Whelks depressed irritation disappeared with Sam's words, and was soon replaced with confusion.

"Good heavens no! It was nothing like that, Detective. To put it simply... he was Asian."

At that, Sam and Dean were taken aback. Quite literally, the two hunters had thrown themselves backwards into their chairs from that remark, as they had been leaning towards the married couple to hear their soft spoken answers. To hear the racist remark from the woman had thrown them off of their train of thought and the two had almost broken out of character. It didn't help it when Mrs. Whelks said it as if it was common knowledge, as if she was commenting that it was a bit chilly outside.

Sam and Dean found it hard not to give the woman a look, and Sam actually had to hold his brother by the knee to keep Dean from giving her a smart ass comment about what she had said. Dean was scowling, but managed to keep his mouth into a firm, tight line to keep his own tongue in check. But the look in the older brother's eyes told Sam that Dean had been angered by the woman's words.

"Well, thank you for your time. I think that pretty much covers everything." Sam said as he forced Dean up from the table. "We'll be here in town for the next few days, so if you remember anything else that will be of use, come seek us out."

The two hunters never exited a house as quickly as they did now. Dean was still fuming as the two walked down the street heading towards the Impala. Sam was carrying their evidence and he threw it into the trunk of the car as Dean started up the engine. He was still biting his tongue when Sam sat down and finally closed the door behind him.

"Dude, I don't know about you, but I did not expect what she said to come out of her damn mouth." Dean grumbled as he put the Impala in reverse. He twisted around to get a better angle of where he was driving the car and Sam could see at this angle how tightly wound up his brother's jaw was. "We hunt monsters that are the scum of the earth, and all we end up is saving people that could be like her."

"Key word there is _could_, Dean. Not everyone is like Mrs. Whelks." Sam said, trying to abate his brother's anger.

"I know that, Sam. But I was just remembering that that Smith guy had been comforting her earlier. He had been doing it out of the kindness of his heart and she-" Dean said, his voice losing the stiffness in it. "It... it just sickens me that someone like her can says things like that to others, and she could also be given kindness from a stranger without feeling guilt at all."

"She just lost her only child." Sam pointed out. "You're stretching it a little bit out of proportion."

"Are you defending her, Sam?" Dean asked as he gave his brother a sharp look.

"No, I'm not. What she said was wrong. But sometimes we need to excuse people who are in a state of emotional wreck." Sam said, his voice remaining calm and steady compared to Dean's rising volume. "She probably wouldn't have said it like that if she had been in her right mind."

"Still doesn't change the fact that she made her daughter breakup with a boy because of his race," Dean muttered softly to himself before finally asking Sam, "hey, which house of mourning parents should we hit to next?"

"Uh," Sam muttered as he pulled out his notepad and flipped the pages to the back. He brought the pad close to his eyes, as his handwriting earlier this morning had been rushed and messy to say the least. "The nearest one is three streets down by the pharmacy. It belongs to a Sophie Springer. Same age as Patricia, one of the first kids missing. And if Patricia's mother is anything to go by, then my guess would be that she also thought that this Sophie was also a 'bad influence' on her daughter."

Dean nodded his head, "alright then."

The drive to the next house was much easier to navigate, as there were wasn't any people that were crowding the streets. This part of Barbrass look much poorer from the neighborhood that the two hunter's had just visited. The lawns of the houses were much more unkempt, as leaves from last autumn were still scattered against the green and growing weeds. The sidewalk had seen plenty of damage and erosion from the years after it had been settled, and Dean noticed as a small sapling had managed to sprout between two of the sidewalk's cement slabs and was now sprouting into a growing adolescent oak tree.

The houses themselves were falling apart themselves to say the least. One house in particular that caught Sam's attention was losing its siding. A rot was beginning to form in the foundation of the house from the exposure to the elements. It would become a serious problem is it wasn't dealt with immediately. The entire energy of the neighborhood was that of a deep despondency, and it did not seem that this part of the town would not wake up to the damage around them.

The town pharmacy came into sight minutes later and Dean slowed the Impala to a crawl. Sam leaned forward towards the dashboard, hoping to spot the address that he had written down early this morning at the crime scene. When he finally saw the correct house, one that was in far better shape than the surrounding ones and was clearly better taken care of, he pointed at it. Dean pulled over to the side of the road and shut of the ignition.

Sam and Dean exited the car, shutting the doors quietly as if not to disturb the depressed neighborhood and walked to the front porch. Sam rung the doorbell twice and the two waited patiently in silence. Only a few seconds later, they heard the sound of slow moving footsteps approaching the door. The large, red painted door opened up after a few hard tugs on the handle, and the two hunters stood in front of a woman dressed in a blue striped sweater in jeans. The woman had obviously had little sleep, as she had bags under her green eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun and she stared at the Sam in Dean in confusion before noticing their suits.

"Good morning miss, we're detectives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Is this the residents of a Sophie Springer?" Dean asked.

Realization hit her face harder than a speeding bullet. The woman let in a sharp breath, and surprisingly, her face lit up, taking the hunters by shock. She smiled, but then Dean noticed the sadness in the woman's eyes and realized that it was not cheer that had brought up the woman's spirits, but hope. Her hand began to grip the door for support and the old red paint fell off at her touch.

"Are- are you here to find Sophie?" The hope was more abundant in her words.

Sam nodded. "We are, miss. Are you her mother?"

"Yes, my name's Kara, Kara Springer. Sophie's my girl. Please come in, come in."The woman gulped down her sadness and regained her control over her body. The two hunters were not the kind to give up such an offer and filed in into the small entry way. The woman led Sam and Dean through the hallway and into the living room. "Take a seat, I've gathered a few things up in case the Bureau ever came along to investigate my little girl. Let me get you two her picture."

"Take your time, we're not going anywhere." Dean said, trying to encourage the poor mother. He sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him to get Sam to join him. He looked up to Kara and noticed that she hadn't moved yet to gather her things. She was just standing there, dazed and confused."Is your husband around? We'd like to ask him a few questions as well."

Kara made a face that confused Sam and Dean. "My husband? Oh no detective, I'm not married. I do have a partner however." Suddenly, Kara turned around and yelled down at the other end of the house. "Martha, there's a couple of Feds down here that want to talk about Sophie!"

It was only seconds later that another woman appeared. She wore striped pajamas and her short brown hair looked disheveled, making the two hunters assume that she had just rolled out of bed at Kara's calls. Her eyes were unfocused and she had large bags under her eyes as well, but as soon as the woman spotted the two strange men in the house, she instantly awoke and ran into Kara's arms, looking for the blonde to support and comfort her.

"Did they find her?" The woman, apparently Martha, asked in a voice that sounded too close to breaking. She sucked in a deep breath before addressing Sam and Dean again, this time directly. "Did you find our daughter?"

For a quick second, the two didn't reply to either Martha or Kara. Instead, they shared a brief glance, knowing that each had the same thought running through their head. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out why Patricia hadn't been allowed to be friends with Sophie; her mother didn't seem the type of woman that supported same sex parents.

* * *

Please forgive any grammatical mistakes. This is unbeta'd and will be fixed shortly.


End file.
